On Monday, city council members approved Mayor Dave Taylor’s selection of Mike Yanez as the new administrator. Currently, Yanez is city administrator in Eudora, where the city council on Monday accepted his resignation. His last day on the job in Eudora will be March 24.

Taylor said Yanez was scheduled to be in Tonganoxie today to sign a work agreement.

Taylor said Yanez, who was chosen from among 27 applicants, is knowledgeable about the workings of city government.

“And I think he’ll work well with the city council, the work crews and city staff,” Taylor said. “It seems like he’s conscious of the public. I think one thing that really attracted me to him was he wanted to meet all of the downtown business owners. He wanted to promote the downtown. Beside his knowledge of being a city administrator, I like the idea that he won’t just sit behind his desk. He’ll get out and meet the people and be part of the community.”

The Tonganoxie mayor said Yanez should be a strong administrator to lead the city through additional growth.

“That was important,” Taylor said. “And he’s a pretty open guy. A lot of cities get in trouble by having these secret meetings and all of that stuff. He doesn’t believe in that. He’s my kind of guy.”

Council member Steve Gumm, too, said he was pleased with the choice of Yanez as city administrator in Tonganoxie.

“I thought he was a very qualified candidate,” Gumm said. “I think with his background in a suburban city, kind of the same makeup as Tonganoxie, that gives him experience so he can hit the ground running here.”

Yanez, who was chosen as Eudora’s first city administrator 2 1/2 years ago, said one reason he chose to leave was because of a “change in political landscape.”

Eudora Mayor Ron Conner and council members Rex Burkhardt and Don Durkin are not seeking re-election.

“I have enjoyed working with Mayor Conner,” Yanez said. “I think he is the most honorable elected official I have ever worked with . . . He’s a man with a high level of statesmanship and civility, with a true heart for the community.”

Conner said he was saddened by Yanez’s decision.

“I think he did an excellent job,” he said. “Obviously, his being the city’s first administrator, we all knew going in it there would be adjustments to be made. I think he handled it well.”

Yanez will succeed Shane Krull, whose last day on the job was Dec. 10. Krull left Tonganoxie city government after accepting the position of county administrator for Miami County in Paola.